


Once Upon a Time

by DWrites



Category: A Song of Ice and Fire - George R. R. Martin, Game of Thrones (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fairy Tale
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-03
Updated: 2017-09-22
Packaged: 2018-12-10 11:10:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 13
Words: 14,537
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11690409
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DWrites/pseuds/DWrites
Summary: Melisandre casts a spell of fairy-tale proportions on twelve young girls. The only thing that can break it is an act of pure love, but will all of them be so lucky?





	1. A Spell is Cast

Melisandre looked out over the world, the world that was full of destruction and devastation. It was cruel and dark. She remembered her past, growing up as a slave. Humanity has not changed, she thought. In all the years I’ve been alive, people are still selfish and greedy.

She went to her fire and gazed into its depths. Perhaps the world needs a reminder. She smiled as she saw what had to be done. She could see the twelve different girls in the fire, all unhappy. Let them be lost, let them be in trouble. Let them be in a place where only an act of pure love can save them.

The flames grew larger and hotter and Melisandre could feel the raw energy. As her spell took hold and ran its course, she smiled.

Now we shall see. 

xxx

The spell had not traveled too far when it began to work. Within Dragonstone, a few chambers done from where Melisandre was at work, a little girl was asleep. She was clutching a doll close to her, and rolled over to display the side of her face that had been scarred with greyscale.

As if in a trance, Shireen slowly sat up and got out of bed. Still holding her doll, she made her way out of her room and out of the castle. By luck, or magic, she encountered no one in her path. Stumbling out of the castle, she began to walk. As she was on an island, she couldn’t travel far. Eventually she stopped at the foot of a very tall tower. There was a door in the back which Shireen entered, and slowly began climbing the twisting stairs. At the top was a small room, with a bed, a bookshelf, and a chamber pot. Shireen climbed into the bed and fell back asleep. The staircase and the door below vanished, leaving seventy feet of pure stone in between her and the ground.

xxx

On another island, an older girl was having similar troubles. Brienne of Tarth was having a bad dream, and was thrashing around in her bed. Suddenly, a calm overcame her and her sleep became dreamless. The other people at Evenfall Hall were experiencing quite the opposite. They each start groaning and convulsing, gritting their teeth in pain. Dark hair started to sprout from their skin, their noses lengthened, and they grew to resemble a bear. Pretty soon, the hall was full of sleeping bears, and one girl who had remained undisturbed.

xxx

As the spell moved on, it reached Highgarden, where a young Margaery slept. In a trance, Margaery got out of bed and made her way through Highgarden. The trees cast dark shadows as she pushed past bushes and small undergrowth. Thorns tore at her nightgown and scraped her arms and legs, yet she marched on at the same pace. Eventually a river cut across the path, and Margaery walked right in the middle of it. She made her way upstream until she came to a waterfall. Going to a shore, she curled up on the ground, not noticing the dark shadows forming around her.

xxx

To the west, a young girl named Jeyne Westerling was in a similar situation. As she rose from her bed, she made her way down into the dungeons. She went into a room that was full of treasures and gold and immediately sealed off behind her. There was no bed in the room, just a simple rug on the ground. Jeyne curled up on it and continued her sleep.

xxx

In Dorne, Myrcella Baratheon got up suddenly in the night. She made her way through the palace and up into a tower. As she entered the room at the top, a commotion downstairs nearly made her pause. The pull of the spell was too strong, however, and Myrcella entered the room and closed the door behind her. The room was completely bare except for one object: a spinning wheel. Myrcella glided over to the spinning wheel and lifted up her hand. The wheel was spinning, yet there was no one there, and no thread to be spun. Reaching towards the wheel, her index finger was pricked by the spindle. A single drop of blood blossomed, and Myrcella crumpled to the floor.

xxx

Far in the north, dreams of princes and frogs entered the mind of a girl called Meera. As she dreamed on, her body began to twitch and start to slowly transform. As she shrank down, her skin turned green and transformed. Eventually, Meera, once a girl of human anatomy, had become a frog.

xxx

In Winterfell, two small figures quietly made their way out into the night. They didn’t take notice of each other, and split off as they entered the woods. The older one, Sansa, headed North. She trudged through the snow, staring ahead intently. There were wolves in the forest, but they did not harm her. Not only was the spell giving her some sort of protection, but she had wolf-blood in her anyway. Sansa eventually made her way to a giant castle in ruins. She walked through the garden, which was covered in snow, and headed inside. She made her way to a small room with a fireplace and a comfy chair. She collapsed on the chair and fell back asleep, as the furniture gazed at her in wonder.

xxx

The younger Stark girl had turned south. She had happened across a friendly horse that had been abandoned, and got on it. Arya rode through the night, not really knowing where she was going. As the night progressed, the weather became warmer and the snow melted. Eventually, she came across an encampment of soldiers. There were tents everywhere, but Arya steered her horse to one that was a little bit separate from the others. It was not being used, so she tied up her horse, went inside, and fell back asleep.

xxx

Even farther north, past the Wall, lay Craster’s Keep. A girl named Gilly had just gotten up all of a sudden and made her way to a hidden room that was not there previously. As she entered, the door locked behind her. As she curled up asleep, a shoe made of glass appeared on one of her feet.

Miles away at Castle Black, a brother of the Night’s Watch noticed one glass shoe had materialized in his quarters, to his utter confusion.

xxx

Ygritte stealthily made her way out of the camp and through the frozen wilderness. The snow was blowing strongly, but she cut a solid path towards her destination. Unbeknownst to her, she was headed to another camp, a camp with brothers of the Night’s Watch. Ygritte stopped at a cave that was within eyesight of the camp and made her bed there. She slept soundly in the cave, undisturbed by the wind or by any animals that were out this far north.

xxx

As the spell expanded, it reached Essos and the two girls it sought. The first was a young girl who had three dragons. Daenerys slowly made her way out of her room and of the city she was in. Strangely, it began to get cold. Ahead of her was a large ice palace, juxtaposed oddly against the desert. Daenerys entered and made her way up the flight of stairs. 

xxx

The second was an even younger girl named Missandei. She made her way to outside to the garden. As she walked amongst the trees, an apple appeared before her. She picked it from the tree and took a large bite out of it. As she swallowed, she collapsed to the ground.


	2. Hercules

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Margaery faces monsters

Margaery woke up near a waterfall. She frowned and got to her feet. She had never walked in her sleep before, and for her to have walked all the way out here? Something was going on. She turned her back to the waterfall and started to walk down the river when she heard a noise. Panicking, Margaery turned and saw a terrible looking creature. It was gigantic and had a horse’s body. But where the head should have been, was the upper body of a man. It was also about ten times bigger than a regular horse or man.

Margaery tried to run but the huge beast grabbed her with one hand and lifted her up. Margaery took a deep breath and tried to remain cool.

“I do not know who you are, but I implore you to let me down. My family can give you a lot of money.”

The beast laughed, “Why would I want money, when I have the prettiest jewel right here?”

Margaery swallowed, “Alright, you have two options. Do whatever you’re going do with me, and then get hunted down and killed by my family. Or, let me go, and live on.”

“Don’t fool me, girl!”

“I’m not fooling you,” Margaery said. “Have you heard of the Tyrells? No? Well, let me elaborate. The Tyrells are one of the most powerful houses in Westeros. We have gold, an army, and the tactical skill required to take down our enemies. We may not be wolves or lions or dragons, but we can creep up on our enemies, and strangle them. Don’t forget that roses have thorns.”

The beast looked nervous, and hastily sent Margaery down.

“Thank you. I won’t forget this.” She said.

Margaery waited until the beast had galloped away, before running back to Highgarden. Before she could make it inside, she came across her brother, Garlan.

“Margaery, where were you?!” He cried out, but she just hugged him tightly.

“I woke up near a waterfall and there was a terrible beast who tried to take me. I was able to get away.”

Garlan nodded, “Come, we’ll be safer in Highgarden.”

Margaery went back to her home, yet still felt uneasy. She went to her quarters and was accosted by her ladies-in-waiting.

“Let her rest,” a voice came from her room.

“Grandmother!” Margaery embraced her.

Olenna Tyrell looks sternly at Margaery, “What happened?”

“I don’t know. I was near a river and there was a beast—”

Olenna glanced at Garlan. “We’ll put guards at your door daily and nightly.”

“Thank you,” Margaery expected to feel relieved, but, strangely, she didn’t. Whatever had happened, it wasn’t over.

xxx

Margaery woke up from a nightmare of hellish beasts and creeping shadows. She nervously looked out her window. 

“I’m safe here,” she mumbled to herself. “Safe.”

Not wanting to go back to bed, she began pacing her room. Margaery had decided that it must have just been a bad dream when a scream came from outside her room. She grabbed a dagger on her table and rushed out. There was another beast out in the hallway, but it wasn’t the same as the river one. It was like a dog, except it was as big as a direwolf and had three heads. 

The three-headed dog saw Margaery and began to run at her. Knowing she couldn’t take it on by herself, Margaery ran. Having grown up in the castle, she knew all of the secrets, which included a hidden passageway behind a tapestry near her room. Margaery sprinted down the hallway, the dog hot on her heels. She saw the tapestry and quickly got behind it in the secret passage, which was thankfully smaller than the dog.

More screams and growls came from outside, until it eventually grew silent. A gruff voice came from the other side of the tapestry: “You may come out, Lady Margaery. The beast is dead.”

Margaery came out and stared at the dead dog on the floor. She took a deep breath and went back to her room. She could hear her grandmother yelling at the guards, but she had other things on her mind. She had no idea why any of this was happening. Clearly someone, or thing, was targeting her. 

xxx

Margaery did not sleep well any of the next few nights. She rarely left her room, and refused to leave the castle at all.

After a few days of this, her grandmother came to see her.

“We should take a walk around the gardens,” she said.

Margaery smiled sadly, “I fear leaving this place.”

Olenna brushed Margaery’s hair from her face, “My dear, we shall have guards with us at all times. And we must get you some fresh air and sun. Without it, a rose would die.”

Margaery nodded, “A walk sounds lovely.”

Together, they went down into one of the castle gardens. Like Olenna had said, there were many guards around them.

“Now, isn’t this nice?” Olenna asked, smiling.

“It is.” Margaery closed her eyes and lifted her face towards the sun. Just as she was beginning to relax, there was a commotion.

Both women whirled around and saw a monster too terrible for words. It walked on four legs and had multiple long necks with snake-like heads on them and rows of sharp teeth. The guards tried to fight it, but it hissed and spit at them. All of its eyes focused on Margaery and the heads lunged at her at once.

Margaery knew that the guards would never get over to her in time. As she saw the teeth approach her, she realized that this was it. This was the end. Margaery prepared herself for the inevitable pain, but was then knocked over to the side. She watched in horror as her grandmother stood in the path of the beast.

“Grandmother, no!” Margaery screamed.

Just as the great mouths of the beast reached Olenna Tyrell, the monster stopped. The great beast disintegrated into smoke and was blown away by the wind. Margaery rushed to her feet and went to embrace her grandmother.

“You shouldn’t have done that,” she said. “You could have gotten hurt.”

Olenna looked at her granddaughter in the eyes and smiled, “My dear, for you I would do anything.”

xxx

The guards had stuck around for a few weeks after that incident, but no other beasts had come to attack Margaery. Margaery knew that it was over. Her nightmares had stopped completely, and Highgarden had returned to its place of sanctuary for her.


	3. Brave

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Brienne has to deal with bears and her past

Brienne caught her breath as she stared back at her home. She was clutching her sword in one hand, which gave her some comfort. She had run out of the castle as fast as she could, only pausing to grab her sword. She didn’t even have her armor on.

Brienne sat down and tried to think clearly. She had woken up, and done her business. The castle had been quieter this morning. She had grabbed her sword and slowly crept down the hallway. She looked into the room of her septa, Roelle, and saw a huge bear. Trying not to scream, she backed away quickly and ran to get a guard. Yet everywhere she turned, she found nobody. A look into more rooms revealed more bears of differing sizes and colors. 

At that point, Brienne had left the castle. She didn’t know what had happened. Brienne stirred as she saw two bears leave the castle. They were walking upright and growling, but not angry growls. More like growls of annoyance or displeasure. 

“They’re trying to communicate with each other,” Brienne mumbled to herself. “They must have been transformed from humans.”

She stood up suddenly. The people in her castle had been transformed to bears. She had no idea why, but she knew she had to go back. Her father was in there. She cautiously made her way back in. The bears were up, but they were all confused. They gave her a wide berth, not knowing why she was untouched by this curse.

Brienne wondered that too. She must have been spared for a reason. 

“Or maybe this is my curse,” Brienne said to no body in particular. She had been enough of a hindrance on her father already.

xxx

Selwyn Tarth wanted an heir to Tarth, and had four children total. Galladon drowned when he was eight, and Arianne and Alysanne died in the cradle. Only Brienne survived. And she needed to continue the line. Which meant marriage, something that would be difficult. Not many men wanted to marry his daughter.

xxx

Brienne finally made her way to her father’s room.

“Father?” She cautiously entered it. As she suspected, a bear was in his room. The bear made noises and tried to talk to Brienne, but she only understood one thing: this was her father.

“I-I think I might be able to save you,” Brienne said. “All of you. There’s a witch in the forest. If we go find her, we might be able to . . .” she trailed off. “I’m going to get my armor and then we can go. Trust me.” The bear nodded once and Brienne felt some relief. Her father had not completely given up on her.

xxx

Brienne was only seven when she was first betrothed. He was three years older than her and they had only met once. He had stared at her, of course he did, she was bigger than him, and didn’t say a word to her. Two years later, he had died with his family from a chill.

Nine year old Brienne had felt relieved, and then immediately guilty. She refused to eat after realizing how wicked her emotions were. Her father had thought she was mourning her betrothed.

“Don’t worry, Brienne,” he had said. “He went with his family. And you can still marry a man from a nice family.”

Of course, Brienne wanted to be a knight instead. But she just nodded and started to eat again.

xxx

Dressed in her armour, Brienne took her bear-father out into the woods. She had her sword out, not wanting to be reckless, even though she was with a bear. Brienne had only heard tales of this witch. No one told her directly, but she caught whispers from other children.

“I’m going to save you, I promise,” she declared, looking her bear-father in the eyes. “No matter what.”

Later, they got dinner. Brienne trapped some rabbits and cooked them on the fire. She gave one of the spits to her bear-father and slowly started to eat hers. She was slightly alarmed when she saw her father ravish the rabbit. Like a bear would.

It dawned upon her that the longer her father and his people stayed as bears, the more they would become bears. They better hurry up and find that witch.

xxx

Brienne was next bethrothed to Ser Ronnet Connington. She remember meeting him for the first and last time. He gave her a rose and said that was all she would have of him. Her father had been displeased with him, but Brienne knew she was to blame. It wasn’t the first time she wished that her siblings had lived, to give her father heirs and family and fortune. 

xxx

As Brienne and her bear-father traveled across the forest, she became more and more nervous. Her bear-father was becoming more of a bear and less of a father. 

As they stumbled across the forest, they eventually found a shack.

“This must be it.” 

Brienne entered and immediately noticed the dust everywhere. Bowls and cups lay discarded everywhere and it seemed as if no one had lived there for years.

Brienne felt her heart sink as she stared at the abandoned shack. She opened her mouth to speak when a huge roar erupted from behind her.

Drawing her sword, Brienne stared at the large bear glaring down at her. He was her father, she couldn’t hurt him. Yet he wasn’t in his right mind and could accidentally kill her.

As the bear swiped at her, Brienne dodged his claws and used her sword as defense. The bear growled at her and snapped his jaw at her. Brienne took a deep breath and gave a wide sweep with her sword. The bear knocked the sword out of her hands, and Brienne quickly moved backwards. She tripped over something and fell into the table, breaking it. As she stared up at the bear about to strike her, the bear paused. Brienne looked into the bear’s eyes—the same eyes as her father—and saw recognition in them. The bear backed away in horror and fled the shack.

Brienne scrambled to her feet and grabbed her sword. Worried, she ran after her father.

xxx

Brienne’s last bethrothal was with Ser Humfrey Wagstaff, who wanted her to act “womanly.” At the age of sixteen, Brienne was already adept at sword-fighting. So, Brienne challenged him to a duel. She won and was able to break three of his bones during the match. Her father wasn’t too happy, but at that point no one wanted to marry Brienne of Tarth.

xxx

Running through the forest, Brienne thought of all the times she had let her father down. And now, she would let him down one more time. As she ran, she heard people yell and shout. 

People! She grew happy and then immediately realized what was going on as she grew closer. Visitors to Tarth, who were currently hunting down a great bear, unaware it was the lord of the island.

“No!” Brienne screamed as she ran towards the great bear. They had got the bear to the middle of the clearing and were stabbing at him with spears.

“Stop!” Brienne cried out.

“Go away, you gross hag!” a man yelled at her.

Brienne ignored him and ran to her father. She embraced him and buried her head in his fur.

“I’m so sorry. I’m sorry I couldn’t fix this. I’m sorry I was such a terrible daughter. I’m sorry I can’t find a man to marry and provide you with heirs. I’m sorry I’m such a disappointment.” Brienne broke down in tears, not caring that she was in the midst of a bunch of hunters. If she died, she died. As she sat there, crying, she was vaguely aware of the huge shape she was hugging start to change. Before she knew it, her father stared back at her.

“Oh, Brienne,” he smiled and put a hand on her cheek, “You will always be my daughter, my little sapphire. Never think you are disappointment, for I am very proud of the woman you’re becoming.” Selwyn kissed his daughter’s forehead and slowly rose to his feet.

“We should probably head back the castle,” he said with a chuckle.

Together they went to the castle to address their people’s concerns of the incident, for every person had been transformed back into a bear. Selwyn decided to hold a feast in celebration of the lifting of the strange bear curse.

The main toast of the feast, however, was to Brienne and her bravery in finding out a way and fixing the curse.

Brienne had blushed and felt awkward, but the faces looking at her were smiling and full of praise. For once, she enjoyed being amidst the people, for they were looking at her with full acceptance and she truly felt heroic.


	4. Sleeping Beauty

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Myrcella lies in a deep sleep, and only one thing can wake her up

It was Myrcella’s cousin, Rosamund Lannister, who first found Myrcella lying on the floor, unconscious. Scared, she ran to get someone.

“Help! Help!” she cried out, running as fast as her legs could carry her.

Ser Arys Oakheart intercepted her. “What is it? What’s wrong?”

“It’s Myr-Myrcella!” Rosamund sobbed. She showed him where Myrcella lay in the tower.

“Get the Prince of Dorne,” he ordered.

Servants came and carried Myrcella down to her quarters where they laid her on the bed. Prince Doran came in and stared at her.

“What happened?”

“I don’t know,” Rosamund said, still crying. “I couldn’t find Myrcella anywhere today, and I found her in a bare room, collapsed on the floor.”

“What room?” Doran asked. Rosamund told him, and he ordered his guards to search it. They left, and a few handmaids went to take care of Rosamund, who was thoroughly shaken up.

By that time, Arianne and Trystane had made their way to Myrcella’s room.

“No,” Trystane knelt down by her side.

They were bethrothed, Trystane and Myrcella. Both were rather young, but they were growing closer and closer. A maester came to check on Myrcella, but he could not find anything wrong with her. 

The day stretched on, and still Myrcella lay there. She was breathing and had a steady pulse, but that was it. Trystane was eventually dragged away to go grab some food. Arianne walked closer to Myrcella and stared down at her.

“She looks even younger now,” a voice came from behind her. Arianne turned to see some of her cousins.

Tyene Sand smiled sadly and walked over to Arianne. She was accompanied by four of her younger sisters. 

“The little ones wanted to check on Myrcella,” Tyene said, hugging Arianne. “It’ll be alright.”

“All our work . . .,” Arianne sighed. “She has to marry Trystane.”

“She will,” Tyene said.

Elia, Obella, Dorea, and Loreza all stood around Myrcellla. 

“Is she going to be okay?” Dorea asked. 

Arianne nodded, “She’s going to be absolutely fine.”

“We brought her a rose,” Obella said. She showed Arianne the red rose in her fist.

“She’ll love that,“ Arianne took the rose and placed it on Myrcella’s chest, with her hands lightly touching it.

With that, Elia and Obella led Dorea and Loreza out of the room. Once they had left, Obara and Nymeria walked in.

“Well?” Obara asked.

“Give me a second,” Tyene went over and began to examine Myrcella. “I don’t think it’s poison. At least not any poison I know. And I know a lot.”

“She doesn’t seem to have any physical wounds, either,” Obara said.

Arianne sat down on a chair, “The maester has no clue what’s going on.”

“Too bad Sarella isn’t here,” Nymeria muttered.

“We could write to her,” Tyene said.

Obara raised her eyebrows, “You do realize that if we write to her, her cover will be blown.”

“We can do it discreetly,” Arianne said, getting up. “Nym, I trust you can get our message across without revealing anything.”

Nymeria grinned, “Oh, I can.”

xxx

Nymeria sat down and began her letter. Sarella was currently in Oldtown, disguised as a boy, so she could become a maester. Of course, she was going by Alleras there.

Dear Alleras,

As you study to become a maester at Oldtown, we were wondering if you have heard of any news from outside. There are rumors about that strange things are occuring. Please respond soon.

Your father

When Nymeria was done, she folded it up and took it to the maester to be sent. As she gave it to him, she remarked that she hoped that the maesters would reply soon, as she needed to know some information on womanly matters.

Later, when she told her sisters, Obara scoffed.

“Why did you do that?”

Nymeria grinned, “So the maester doesn’t open my letter or Sarella’s reply. No doubt he’ll disapprove of her training to be a maester.”

“Couldn’t you have said you were sending it to your mother?” Obara asked.

“My mother lives in Volantis,” Nymeria said, “And I needed to send it to Oldtown. Or have you forgotten your geography, again? They’re in opposite directions.“

“I realized that,” Obara said coolly. 

Tyene rolled her eyes, “Let’s just be glad we got a letter out to her.”

xxx

Arianne stood in her father’s chambers, nervous. 

“We shouldn’t do that,” she said, shaking her head.

Doran looked at her, “We need to inform Cersei Lannister that her daughter is unwell.”

“Father, if she hears Myrcella is like this, she’ll break the betrothal and take Myrcella away. We need this betrothal!”

Doran studied his daughter, “Why do you care so much about this betrothal?”

Arianne realized that if she lied right now, her father would never listen to her. So, she told the truth.

“With Dornish customs, Myrcella is next in line to the throne. We want to crown her queen.”

“We?”

“My cousins and I,” Arianne said, her heart sinking.

Doran sighed, “Listen, Arianne. If we don’t tell Cersei, she will attack Dorne.”

“But we know how to fix it!” Arianna said quickly. 

“You do?!”

“Yes, we’re working on it right now,” Arianne said confidently. “Wouldn’t it be better to tell Cersei that we were able to save Myrcella?”

Doran nodded slowly. “If you can’t cure her within the next few days, I will tell Cersei.”

Arianne gulped, “deal.”

xxx

Sarella’s letter had quickly come back, telling tales of shadow beasts, men turning into bears, and girls going missing.

“This is magic,” Tyene said. 

Arianne groaned, “How are we going to fix this?”

“We probably need some magic,” Nymeria said.

“Did Sarella mention anything?” Arianne asked.

Nymeria shook her head.

The four girls sat in silence, thinking. Finally, Nymeria came up with an idea.

“What’s the most magical thing ever? Love!” Nymeria grinned.

Obara raised her eyebrows, “Myrcella is but a child. And we don’t want her family to come down here, that’s for sure.”

“Well, it’s a good thing she and Trystane are hitting it off,” Arianne said.

“That’s puppy love,” Tyene said.

“Puppy or not, it’s innocent,” Nymeria said. “And we might need that.”

xxx

Arianne had gotten Trystane, and now they, with their cousins, were all in Myrcella’s room.

Trystane looked really nervous. “So, what’s going on?”

“Myrcella has been hurt by magic,” Arianne said. “And we think we’ve found a way to save her.”

“With me?” Trystane asked.

Her young brother looked like an innocent puppy, and Arianne fondly ruffled his hair.

“Yes. We think a true love’s kiss can wake Myrcella up.”

Trystane looked around the room, “Do I have to do it in front of all of you?”

“It’s going to be fine,” Arianne said.

“What if it doesn’t work?”

Arianne shrugged, “Then we’ll find another way to wake Myrcella.”

Trystane hesitantly walked over to Myrcella’s side. Taking a deep breath, he leaned down and kissed her on the lips. Myrcella immediately drew a big breath and woke up. She turned to Trystane and embraced him tightly.

“You saved me!” 

Trystane’s face turned red, but he hugged back.

Arianne smiled and went to get her father to tell him the good news.


	5. Frozen

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A girl of fire has to deal with ice

Daenerys woke up freezing cold. She looked around her and all she could see was ice. She felt the cold down to her very bones. Dany carefully got to her feet and wrapped her cloak around her.

I’m a dragon, she though, and dragons have scales. The cold doesn’t bother them and it won’t bother me.

Her thoughts did nothing to ease the discomfort, though. Heat she could do with; she even liked it. But cold? It unsettled her.

Dany made her way through the ice castle. It was intricately built and seemed so fragile, yet it stood tall against the desert landscape. Eventually, Dany made her way to the front gates of the castle.

Dany immediately rushed out of the castle but stopped dead in her tracks. It was snowing. It shouldn’t be snowing. They were in the desert! It was hot outside. 

Dany began her trek to the city in the distance. She was so intent to getting there, she didn’t notice that every time she stepped, ice crystals formed.

xxx

Dany got to the city and saw ice everywhere. The streets were bare. She eventually made her way to the palace where she was residing.

“Hello,” she called out, her breath visible. The palace seemed deserted as well. Finally, she made her way to a small room, where she found a small gathering of people around a table.

“What—” she stopped when she saw who was on the table.

“Missandei.” Dany stepped closer to her friend. Missandei lay still, eyes closed. She couldn’t be dead, she just couldn’t. Dany reached out and touched Missandei’s arm. 

Immediately, ice began to form on her arm. Dany jerked her hand back and stared in horror.

“Khaleesi,” someone said behind her, gently, but Dany ran from the room. She left the palace and the city and ran through the deserted wilderness.

How many more people were hurt like Missandei? No one had proper clothes or supplies for this cold weather. And somehow, she was the root of it.

How could she have hurt her people like this? She was fire, not ice. All of the people back there . . . Dany shook her head and kept walking. 

She made her way back to the ice castle. Deciding that this was the safest place for her, Dany entered it and walked up to the very top.

xxx

Daenerys had decided that if she could create this ice, she would be able to melt it too. She placed two hands on the wall of the ice castle and willed it to melt. The ice just hardened more. Dany cried out in frustration and hit her fist on the wall. 

xxx

Dany was getting hungry and tired. She stared off at the horizon, looking at three birds flying about. They seemed to be flying towards her. And they also seemed to be a bit larger than birds. Much larger, in fact.

Dany jumped to her feet, her heart racing. Blurs of black, green, and cream were flying her way. Her children.

xxx

The dragons seemed to know something was wrong with her. They brought her fresh kills, which Dany devoured, but kept their distance.

Dany noticed that they seemed slower than usual, and more lethargic.

“The cold is wearing you down,” she realized. “I’ll find a way to fix this, I promise.”

xxx

Viserion was the first dragon to fall asleep. He had curled up outside of Dany’s castle and grew still. Dany watched with apprehension. Surely he would rise soon. Yet he stayed there as snow piled on him.

Rhaegal went next. He laid next to Viserion and settled in the ground. Dany ran out and tried to rouse him, but the pull was too strong. Soon, Rhaegal was asleep as well.

When Drogon felt asleep, Dany knew that her dragons wouldn’t wake up unless this strange spell had stopped. But she felt useless and powerless. Dany curled up amongst her dragons and drifted off into an uneasy sleep. When she woke up, amongst her dragons which were like stones, she felt tears prick her eyes. 

“I will stay here forever,” she declared, “I will not abandon my children. Let my bones turn to stone with them.”

xxx

Later that night, Dany closed her eyes and dreamed. She was little, and running around in that house with the red door. A woman came and picked her up. Dany had never met her, but recognized her at once: the woman was her mother.

Dany woke up and smiled. She sat up and paused when she realized she was sitting in a puddle. Dany stood up carefully and saw that the snow had melted slightly.

Dany went over to the ice castle and put her hands on the wall. She remembered the feeling of her dream, the love in it, and the ice started to melt at her hands touch. Dany removed her hands and looked down at them. She turned and looked up to the sky. The words rose from her and erupted out in the night air.

“I am Daenerys of the House Targeyen.

I am the daughter of Rhaella and Aerys the Second.

I am the first of my name.

I am unburnt.

I am the the queen of the Andals, the Rhoynar and the First Men.

I am the queen of Meereen.

I am the Khaleesi of the Great Grass Sea.

I am the protector of the realm.

I am the lady regnant of the Seven Kingdoms.

I am the breaker of chains.

I am the mother of dragons.

And I am willing to lay down my life for my children.

With the love I carry I demand this spell to be over.”

As her words died down, a breeze drifted through. The clouds cleared away to show a beautiful black sky, lit up with thousands of stars. The snow and ice melted and evaporated into the air. The temperature warmed, and Drogon, Rhaegal, and Viserion awoke. 

Her dragons flew up into the sky and started to circle around the plains she was standing in. Daenerys smiled and started to walk back to her city.


	6. Snow White

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Missandei sleeps on, even as the weather has gotten better

Missandei had been found lying unconscious outside. As the guards swiftly brought her in, the temperature started dropping abnormally low.

Things proceeded to get stranger from there. It started to snow, and Daenerys was nowhere to be found. Her dragons were restless and hostile towards everyone. Daenerys was missing in action and Missandei was unconscious, and those two were the only ones comfortable enough to go near the dragons.

The people of the city tried to prepare themselves for the cold, but their supplies were inadequate. Everyone was forced to stay inside as they did not have proper materials to move about in the cold.

Daenerys had come back, briefly, but fled again. Her feet left icy footprints behind her. Soon, talk overcame the city.

“They say the Queen is causing this.”

“I thought she dealt with fire, not ice.”

“I heard a guard say that ice was coming out of her!”

“She’s been cursed!”

“We’ve been cursed!”

Discourse spread and bad tempers rose. Meanwhile, Missandei remained unconscious. Some magical force was keeping her in this state. The guards didn’t know what to do besides try to calm everyone down and pray Daenerys would come back soon. 

Eventually, her dragons had flown away. People were scared and worried. Crops had been buried under the snow. The city was prepared for droughts, not blizzards.

With hunger, came anger. The guards cautiously let some people into the castle, which provided some more protection from the cold than their houses. But there were still riots and attempted coups to obtain more food. 

One night, the world seemed to warm up. As the temperature rose, and the snow and ice disappeared, everyone went outside onto the streets. They cried out and pointed to a figure who was getting closer.

It was Daenerys. She greeted everyone and immediately made her way to see Missandei.

“She’s not better yet?” Daenerys asked.

“No, Khaleesi.”

Daenerys sighed. “I was able to fix the weather with love. Sounds silly, but it’s true. But why isn’t Missandei awake?”

Daenerys reached out and held Missandei’s hand. 

“I’ll find a way to wake you up, I promise.”

Daenerys worked the next few days to regain peace in the city and make sure the cold did not do any lasting harm. When she wasn’t hearing to people’s needs, she sat by Missandei.

One night, Daenerys fell asleep by Missandei’s side. One of her advisors woke her up, and she resignedly made her way to her room. As she laid down on her bed, she felt herself become wide awake.

Daenerys sighed in frustration. She fixed the snow with love, so why didn’t everything go back to normal? Then again, Missandei doesn’t seem to be connected to the cold. And her act of love had nothing to do with Missandei. Maybe she needed to do something for Missandei.

Daenerys sat up, her eyes wide. She jumped out of her bed and practically ran back to Missandei. She grabbed on of Missandei’s hands with both of hers.

“Missandei, I love you and I need you by my side. You’re my closest friend, and we shall stand together from here to Westeros. I promise I will never desert you,” 

Daenerys kissed Missandei’s forehead and closed her eyes. Tears had formed and silently slid down her cheeks. Sudden movement made her open them quickly.

Missandei was sitting upright, looking confused and tired.

“Wha-what happened?” she asked, disorientated.

“A little magic wanted to try to dissuade Daenerys and Missandei,” Daenerys smiled, “and it failed.”


	7. Beauty and the Beast

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sansa is a prisoner who bonds with her captor

Catelyn Stark knew something was wrong the moment she got up that morning. Not being able to pinpoint it, she did a small walkthrough of Winterfell. Robb was on the training grounds, Bran was with the maester, and Rickon was still sleeping.

Catelyn sighed and went down to Robb. “Have you seen Sansa or Arya?”

Robb shook his head, “Not this morning, no.”

“Something bad has happened, I can feel it.”

Robb sighed, “Mother, this is a big castle and Sansa and Arya can take care of themselves. You’re worrying over nothing.”

Before Catelyn could reply, Bran came over, carried by Hodor.

“Mom, Lady and Nymeria are acting weird,” Bran said.

Catelyn and Robb shared a look.

“Weird how?” Robb asked.

“They’re anxious,” Bran said. “Something’s wrong.”

Catelyn turned to her eldest, “Robb, take some guards and search for Sansa and Arya in a perimeter around Winterfell. I’ll order others to search Winterfell itself.”

Robb nodded and immediately went to work. Catelyn took a deep breath. Her girls were going to be fine.

xxx

Sansa Stark woke up in a strange castle. She frowned and slowly stood up. She felt like she was being watched. 

Sansa walked through the castle, constantly hearing noises behind her and seeing movement in the corner of her eye. She was trying to find an exit, to get back to Winterfell. She couldn’t be too far from her home.

All of a sudden, a candelabra leapt from the table.

“I saw that!” Sansa cried out. “Who are you?! What is this place?!”

The candelabra slowly made its way from the shadows. “We’re cursed. This castle is cursed.”

“Cursed? Why?”

“I do not know,” the candelabra said.

Sansa narrowed her eyes, “were you a human transformed into a candelabra, or were you a candelabra made into life?”

“I do not know, miss,” the candelabra said. “One moment there was nothing. And then I was there.” 

“Well, I want to leave,” Sansa said. 

“You can try miss, but—” the candelabra stopped suddenly. Heavy footsteps came from behind her.

“Who is this?!” A voice boomed out.

Sansa turned to see a . . . well, a beast.

The creature was large, much larger than Sansa (who was quite tall herself). Its face was like a buffalo; it even had horns. Its upper body was a bear and its lower body was a wolf. It even had a mane and tusks. But what was more strange were its eyes—they were piercing and grey. 

Sansa drew herself up, “I am Sansa Stark of Winterfell and I demand to be returned home.”

The Beast growled, “Anyone who comes into this castle belongs to me! You trespassed and now you must pay the price!”

Sansa was frightened, but tried to appear relaxed. “I can assure you I did not come willingly into this castle—”

“It does not matter!” the Beast roared. “You are now my prisoner! Take her to her room, servants.”

The pieces of furniture began to converge on Sansa and ushered her away. Sansa expected to be taken to the dungeons, but instead was led to a very nice bedroom.

“It is nice, is it not?” a mantle clock asked.

“A cage is a cage,” Sansa replied drily.

“But you have free range of the castle!” The candelabra proclaimed. 

“Really?” Sansa looked down at it.

“Yes, except for the west wing,” the candelabra said.

“What’s in the west wing?” Sansa asked, but her question fell on deaf ears.

xxx

The Beast had decided to invite Sansa for dinner. It was the least he could do, as the annoying animate objects kept telling him to be nice.

“I don’t want to be nice!” The Beast growled.

“Well, it’ll be more bearable if you two get along. Besides, she’s very pretty.”

“Yeah, and I’m ugly. Even when I wasn’t a beast.”

xxx

Sansa was startled at the sound of a knock. She opened the door slowly.

“What do you want?“ She asked the beast.

“Dinner.” The beast said.

Sansa raised her eyebrows, “I’m not making you dinner.”

“No. Eat dinner. With you,” the beast narrowed its eyes. “That’s not a request. Dinner is ready.“

“I’m not eating dinner with someone who’s keeping me prisoner!” Sansa shouted at him.

“Fine! Don’t eat with me, and you won’t eat!”

“Fine!”

Sansa slammed the door and collapsed on her bed. She buried her head in her pillow to muffle her sobs.

xxx

The candelabra felt bad as Sansa stayed in her room. Once the Beast had left to do some sulking, the candelabra went to get her.

“You need food!”

With his other trusted household objects, they brought Sansa down to the kitchen and served her food.

“How is it?” a napkin asked.

“Delicious,” Sansa said. She ate until she felt sick.

“Anything else we can do for you?” a cup asked.

Sansa paused, thinking. “A tour.”

Together they gave her a small tour of the castle. They ended up back at Sansa’s room.

“Thank you!” Sansa watched as they all walked away, fading from sight. She grabbed her cloak and started walking through the castle.

Curiosity prompted her to go to the west wing. She realized that these were the Beast’s quarters. There were claw marks on the walls and the windows were broken. On a table lay a single red rose.

xxx

One second, Sandor was in King’s Landing, sleeping, the next he was in some weird castle up North, transformed into a beast.

It was some joke. Plus, everything in the castle moved and talked. It was annoying and all Sandor wanted was some peace and quiet.

The weirdest part was the rose. It lay on a table in his room, and it was mesmerizing. Sandor kept trying to discard it, but it remained.

A rug explained to him that the rose was the key to the curse. 

“A rose?” Sandor snorted.

“It’s love.”

“It’s not love, it’s a bloody rose,” Sandor said.

“The rose represents love,” the rug said.

“Okay, well how is it supposed to help me?”

“It must be exchanged as a token of affection.”

Sandor laughed, “Even before I was a beast, I was hideous. Now shut up. I want to get some sleep.”

xxx

Sansa reached towards the rose when the Beast appeared again.

“WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!” The Beast roared.

Sansa jumped back. “I was . . . I was just . . . just . . .”

“GET OUT!” 

Sansa raced out of the room and through the castle. She found a door and ran out of it and into the woods.

xxx

Sansa had paused to catch her breath when she heard an unearthly growl. Sansa froze as dark shapes emerged from the trees. They were large and feline-like.

Sansa wished she had a sword. Or Robb. Or Arya. Anyone would be better equipped than her to face these monsters.

A much larger, familiar growl came from behind her. The Beast jumped into the clearing and starting fighting the giant animals.

The Beast fought off the animals and turned to Sansa. Sansa was alarmed to see blood soaking its fur. She ran over to his side and carefully guided him back to the castle. She put him in his bed and began to work on his wounds.

“That hurts!” The Beast cried out.

“It’ll feel better if you stay still,” Sansa said, concentrating on sewing him up. The Beast pouted, but didn’t say anything else.

xxx

The next few days passed quickly as Sansa cared for the Beast. She found that she did not mind spending time with him.

“You know, you’re not too bad,” Sansa remarked.

“You neither,” the Beast replied. “Although you still see me as just a beast. There’s a man underneath all of this, you know?”

“Well, then, what’s his name?”

“Sandor.”

“Sandor,” Sansa repeated.

“Easy enough to remember. Shares the first syllable of your name.”

“Wow, I had no idea,” Sansa rolled her eyes.

The Beast laughed his gruff laughter. 

xxx

Even when the Beast got better, Sansa still spent time with him. They went on walks and had dinner together. He even gave her gifts. But Sansa still remained unhappy at her core.

xxx

Sandor decided to surprise Sansa. He threw a great fancy dinner, and then they danced in the ballroom.

“This has been wonderful,” Sansa smiled, but Sandor still saw a trace of sadness.

“What’s wrong?”

“My family,” Sansa said. “I miss them.”

Sandor sighed, “Go then. Go rejoin them. I’ll give you a horse from the stables.”

“Really?!” Sansa grinned. “Thank you Sandor!”

As he went back to his room to prepare her for the journey, the rug was protesting.

“Give her the rose, idiot!”

“She doesn’t love me. Not truly. She’ll leave and never look behind her. Just you wait and see.”

The rug sighed dramatically and Sandor went to see Sansa off. As Sansa left, she kissed his cheek and bade him good fortune.

xxx

The way back to Winterfell was not a pleasant one, but Sansa made it nonetheless. Creatures kept attacking her, and she could swear the forest was moving around to confuse her. Yet, Sansa Stark was not easily fooled.

When Sansa got home she was greeted with her anxious mother and Robb.

“What happened?!” Catelyn asked. “Where’s Arya?”

Sansa frowned, “Arya was never with me.”

Sansa told them her story. Lady had come racing out to meet her and sat down at her feet.

“A beast kept you!” Robb declared, drawing out his sword.

“Robb, no!” Sansa protested, but Robb was already gathering his men.

“Sansa, please,” Catelyn said, “He’s protecting you.”

“No, the Beast won’t harm me!” Sansa cried out. “His name is Sandor and he has a good heart!”

Robb looked at his sister incredulously. “Sansa, it is a beast! You’re clearly hoodwinked!”

“No, I’m not!” Sansa stormed off, Lady following right behind her.

xxx

Robb prepared his men to go out and hunt the beast. Using Sansa’s story as guidance to where the castle was, they marched through the woods.

xxx

Catelyn went to check on her daughter. Sansa was in her bed, her quilt clutched around her. Lady was sleeping on the bed with her.

“Robb will fix this,” Catelyn said, kissing her daughter’s forehead. “There are guards posted by your door. You’re safe.”

xxx

As soon as her mother left, Sansa jumped out of bed, fully dressed. She put her cloak on and quietly left Winterfell, with Lady beside her. She remained discreet and managed to get a horse and start galloping off towards the castle. Lady had no trouble keeping up next to her.

When Sansa arrived at the castle, her heart was in her throat. Robb was attacked. Sansa raced in and up towards the west wing, amongst soldiers fighting the household objects. 

“Robb, no!” Sansa screamed as she raced in the room. Robb had a sword pointed at the Beast’s chest.

“Sansa, he’s a Beast!”

“No, he’s not!” Sansa yelled. “He’s a man named Sandor who somehow found himself in this predicament, like how I found me. He has a good heart that he doesn’t want to show and there’s a sweet, caring side to him.”

Sansa turned to look the Beast right in the eyes. “And I love him.”

With those words, the castle started to crumble. Robb grabbed Sansa and raced out. They made it out just in time.

“No! Sandor!” Sansa looked at the pile of rubble. She cried and pushed against Robb, who was holding her back. 

But from the ashes, rose a man. He was strange and half his face was scared, but Sansa recognized his eye.

xxx

Sandor walked over to where Robb and Sansa stood. The men of Winterfell stood guard around them and a large wolf was looking at him intensely. Sandor stood in front of Sansa and lifted up the red rose his clutched in his hand.

Wordlessly, Sansa took the rose. She smiled at him. Sandor smiled back, knowing his face probably looked gruesome. But Sansa kept her eye contact and didn’t flinch at him.

With that moment imbedded in his memory, Sandor turned away and headed back to King’s Landing.

xxx

Sansa kept the red rose. She put in a vase and had it set besides her bed, so she would always have a reminder of the man who gave it to her.


	8. Mulan

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Arya will do anything to get back home. Including fight in a battle.

Arya woke up to the sounds of people. She frowned and glanced around her. She was in a tent. Arya peeked out and saw an encampment. She was amongst an army. Arya scowled as she looked over the tents. No woman anywhere. Knowing she would rather fight than clean their laundry, she grabbed Needle and hacked away her hair. She sheathed her sword, fastened her cloak, and exited the tent.

“New soldier! Report!” A man with a thick black beard shouted at Arya.

Arya slowly made her way towards the man, who, frankly, smelled horrible. 

“Where am I? Who are you?” Arya asked. 

“Silence, boy,” the man growled. “I’m Yoren. You’re with our group, an army of men bent on getting rid of bandits and clansmen. Who are you?”

“Arry,” Arya replied. 

“Welcome to the band, Arry.“ Yoren said.

Arya nodded and began to walk through the camp. She was trying to figure out how she got here when she bumped into someone.

“Watch it!” The boy turned around and spat at Arya.

“You watch it!” Arya felt her temper rose. The boy and his friend glared at Arya. The boy’s arms were green to the elbows. His friend was plump and had straw-colored eyes.

“Enough!” Arya turned to see a slightly older boy walk over to them. He was big and fit with muscles, and had striking blue eyes and thick black hair.

He reached out his hand to Arya. “Gendry.”

“Arry,” she shook his hand.

“We were just messing,” the boy with the green arms grinned, “Lommy Greenhands. And this is my friend, Hot Pie.”

“Training is about to begin,” Gendry said, walking away.

Training, it turned out, was hard and annoying. Yoren first made Arya train with a regular sword, but then let her switch to Needle when he saw her struggling with it. 

As Arya trained, she started to gain some respect from her fellow soldiers. She had little sword training before, but she was a quick learner. 

As the whole camp trained, they expected to go out and fight. But there was no word from Yoren. 

Finally, Yoren ended one long day with an announcement.

“We’re going to be moving early tomorrow morning. Now, we aren’t actually going to go fight. We’re just going to meet up with another group. Understand?”

The soldiers nodded. Arya just wanted to go and fight so the man would let her go back home. She thought about sneaking off, but the prospect of being able to fight was too appealing to her. She was also getting along really well with Gendry, Hot Pie, and Lommy.

As the troops started marching, Arya decided to ride her horse that had somehow come down with her. As her house walked near the wagons, Gendry walked along her side.

As the men around her sang some weird song and made crude jokes, Arya let her mind drift. She started to doze off on her house, imagining she was flying above their caravan, when Gendry roughly shook her awake.

“Don’t go falling off your horse, now.”

“I won’t,” Arya said, shaking her head violently to get ride of her tiredness.

Gendry side-eyed her. “No thank you?”

She sighed, “Thank you. Satisfied?”

Gendry nodded and grinned. Arya was miffed, but couldn’t help to smile back.

A sudden noise made them halt. 

“What’s going on?” Gendry asked. With Arya’s post on her horse, she could see over most of the people.

“There are ruins . . .” Arya said, realization dawning on her. Ruins of a camp. One specific camp that they were supposed to meet.

Yoren turned around to yell an order, but just then the ambush started.

A group of clansmen came roaring over the hill, carrying axes and large swords. Arya took one look at Needle, and galloped her horse over to the wagon with weapons. She hopped down off of her horse and ruffled through the pile until she found a bow and a quiver of arrows. 

Arya got back on her horse and rode out onto one of the higher hills surrounding the men. She took out an arrow and aimed it into the men. Picking her targets carefully, she began to shoot arrow after arrow into them. She always hit her targets. Arya kept a careful eye on Gendry, Hot Pie, and Lommy. Gendry was in the middle of the fighting. 

Hot Pie and Lommy saw Arya on her horse and made their way up the hill to her. 

“Fend off anyone who tries to get me,“ Arya commanded, and the two boys nodded. 

As Arya continued her assault, some men climbed up the hill to get her.

Lommy and Hot Pie were just enough to prevent them from getting to close to Arya. Arya frowned in consternation. Gendry was starting to get overpowered. She hopped off of the horse and gave the bow and arrow to Hot Pie. She drew Needle and ran into the battle.

Arya was quick and ran in between people. She dodged steel and fended off any attacks with Needle. She found Gendry, surrounded by men. One disarmed him and as one raised his sword, Arya jumped in and defended him. She impaled one of the men, and sliced off another’s limb.

“We have to go!“ Arya yelled at Gendry. Nodding, Gendry and her ran. Hot Pie and Lommy joined them with Arya’s horse. They eventually made their way to a cave.

“Are you alright?” Arya asked.

“Yeah,” Gendry said. “Thank you. You’re bleeding though.”

Arya looked down and saw blood on her midriff. A sword must have scratched her when she went to save Gendry.

“Here, take of your shirt and—“ Gendry started but was cut off by Arya.

“No!”

“We need to clean that wound, Arry,” Hot Pie said.

Arya sighed, “Look, my name’s not Arry. It’s Arya. Arya Stark from Winterfell.”

The three boys looked at her in shock.

“You’re a lady,” Lommy finally said.

“No, I’m not!” Arya said ferociously. 

“Lady or not, we still need to take care of that wound,” Gendry said.

Arya sighed, and lifted up her shirt slightly so they could clean and bandage her stomach.

“You should be all good,” Gendry said, smiling at her.

Arya swallowed and nodded.

“So, what next?” Hot Pie asked.

“I’m going home,” Arya said. “To Winterfell.”

“We don’t have anywhere to go, though,” Hot Pie said.

Arya smiled as she thought of something. “Come with me to Winterfell. We have a bakery for you, a blacksmith for Gendry, and a dyer for Lommy. You’ll be welcome there, trust me.”

xxx

Nymeria sensed them first. She started howling and pacing at the gates. Catelyn and Robb hurried out and watched as four figures approached in the distance: one horse and three humans.

As soon as Catelyn recognized her youngest daughter, she raced to her with Nymeria.

Embracing Arya, she meet three young lads who were with Arya.

“Thank you for looking out for her,” Catelyn said.

“Actually, my lady,” the one they called Hot Pie interjected, “she looked out for all of us.”

“Saved my life, she did,” the young man named Gendry said, who looked an awful lot like Ned’s friend, Robert.

Catelyn beamed at her daughter, “Well, this deserves a feast, I should think. Both my daughters safe and sound.”

They headed inside Winterfell as Arya asked, “Wait, what happened with Sansa?”


	9. Aladdin

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jeyne is trapped amongst gold, and a prince in disguise must rescue her

Robb was feeling a bit more relaxed. Sansa was back and safe. Arya was back and safe (although she was spending a little too much time with that Gendry boy for his liking). The Starks were together again.

He was in the training grounds, when his mother approached him.

“You know the Westerlings, Robb?”

Robb nodded, “Yes, mother. Why?”

“Their daughter, Jeyne. She’s been kidnapped.”

Robb raised his eyebrows, “And you want me to go help her?”

Catelyn nodded, “It’ll help secure an alliance. Jeyne is a very nice, young girl. And I trust you will able to help her. They requested you, Robb. They think you’re a legend, with rescuing Sansa and Arya.”

“Both Sansa and Arya came back of their own accords,” Robb reminded her. “But I will go and help find this Jeyne.”

“Thank you, Robb,” Catelyn smiled and embraced her son. “Come back quickly.“

“I will.”

xxx

Jeyne woke up and was immediately alarmed. She was in a room filled with gold and jewels, with no discernible door.

Jeyne got up and began looking through the room. She was nervous, and kept feeling like the rug was moving around the room of its own accord.

xxx

Robb decided the best way to get information on how to help Jeyne was to go amongst the villages and listen to the people talk.

Of course, he couldn’t necessarily dress in his typically high-born Northern garb. So Robb changed to dress more like a farmer and went to learn what he can.

“They say the girl has been lost.”

“Theres a room in the dungeon that the guards cannot open.”

“No guards reported seeing the young Westerling leave.”

One story in particular interested Robb. He had gone to a pub to hear more and this one man was loudly recounting a rumor.

Two times the entrance had opened to Jeyne and her prison. Both times revealed the girl safe and well, and in a room full of gold. First, her uncle was able to get in. He, however, had picked up a golden chalice and was unable to reach Jeyne. When he left the barrier sealed again. Then her mother had gotten in. However she picked up a beautiful golden necklace, and likewise could not reach her daughter. Since then, no one else had tried.

xxx

Robb made his way towards the dungeons. In the chaos, no one paid any attention to him. He frowned as he stared at a brick solid wall, where everyone was facing. According to a woman standing next to him, there used to be a door there.

Robb thought about Sansa and Arya, and how they managed to come back. Both Sansa and Arya had felt the release of the curse when they had saved Sandor and Gendry, respectively. But when they talked about it, they didn’t focus on the action. They had focused on the feeling. Sansa used the word love. Arya had just said she didn’t want Gendry to be killed.

So if love was the key, how could Robb save this girl whom he had never met before. 

“Sibling love might be able to work,” Robb muttered to himself.

xxx

Rollam was a small boy with brown hair who was the youngest of his family. He was worried about his sister, Jeyne, when an older boy came to him and asked for his help.

“I’m Robb. My sisters were taken too, but now they’re back. I want to help your sister now.”

Rollam nodded and went with Robb down to the dungeons. When Rollam looked nervously at Robb, who nodded encouragingly.

“Jeyne?” He asked, his voice small. “Please come back. I miss you.”

The wall started to move and transform. A door appeared and Robb and Rollam entered.

“Jeyne!” Rollam went over and hugged Jeyne tightly. Jeyne looked up and looked at Robb in the eyes, who couldn’t help but notice how the color was a very pretty brown.

xxx

As Jeyne stared into the blue eyes of the stranger, the ceiling started to rumble. 

She looked upward in fright as stones started to fall.

“Get to the exit!” She charged forward with Rollam, but her foot got tangled and she fell. She pushed Rollam onward and glanced up to see the stranger shover Rollam out just as an avalanche of stones came down. 

The stranger ran and covered Jeyne so she wouldn’t be hurt. Eventually, everything stopped. 

Coughing, Jeyne sat up and looked around. They were in a cave and everything was blocked over. She looked over at the stranger. Both of them were sitting on the rug.

“Thank you for saving me,” Jeyne said.

“No problem,” he wiped dust from his face, “I’m Robb.”

“Jeyne. My brother . . . he could get to me.”

Robb nodded, “I figured someone who truly loved you would need to get to you.”

Jeyne’s face grew red, “My mother and uncle—”

“Mean well, I’m sure,” Robb said quickly. “I meant no offense, my lady.”

“Why are you even here?” Jeyne asked, not unkindly. “Are you really trying to sacrifice yourself to make your name known?”

Robb grinned, “I’m Robb Stark of Winterfell, so no, it’s not that.”

Jeyne’s face turned red again, “I’m so sorry!”

“Don’t worry about it,” Robb shrugged. “I’m glad I did come and save you.”

“We’re both trapped now,” Jeyne reminded him gently.

Robb shrugged and smiled at her. Jeyne smiled back. She leaned forward and kissed him. Robb moved forward and started to kiss back.

As the pair sat there, the rug started to move. They nearly fell off as the rug rose. The rug started to move in one direction and right as they were able to crash in the wall, the stone separated and they zoomed out of the dungeons. Robb laughed as they rode the magic carpet around the village and then North.

“Where are we going?” Jeyne asked.

“Winterfell, apparently.”

“My mother wouldn’t like that,” Jeyne said.

Robb looked at her. “And what about you?”

Jeyne gave him a small smile, “I wouldn’t mind a trip to Winterfell.”


	10. Pocahontas

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ygritte and Jon Snow form a connection regardless of the warring Wildlings and Night's Watch

Ygritte woke up suddenly. She heard voices from outside the cave she was in. Ygritte cautiously peeked out and saw Crows.

She scowled and ducked back in. Why were the Night’s Watch here? Why was she here?

Ygritte was just about to get out of there when she heard a noise much closer. Turning, she saw a Crow standing right in front of her. He had grey eyes and brown hair, and looked like a baby animal. He seemed equally shocked to see her.

“What are you lookin’ at, Crow?” Ygritte asked.

He just took a deep breath, “Why is your camp this close?”

“My camp isn’t this close! I was doin’ some . . . some . . . scouting.”

“Heard everything you need to?“ The boy asked.

Ygritte narrowed her eyes, “Why are you here? To kill more of my people? Listen, —”

“Jon”

“What?”

“That’s my name.”

Ygritte raised her eyebrows. “And I’m Ygritte. Now listen, Jon. Why don’t you and your Crows fly back to the Wall before I kill you myself.”

“Aren’t you scared I’ll kill you?” Jon asked.

Ygritte just laughed, “It’s not death that frightens me, no. It’s what comes after.”

“What comes after?” Jon asked, but just then someone called out his name. Jon hesitated and then left, glancing back at her as he went.

xxx

Jon sat with his brothers around their camp as they discussed what to do. He thought of that wildling girl, with the flaming red hair. 

“You alright, Jon?” Ebben asked.

Jon looked up at him and then diverted his eyes. “Yeah, just cold.”

xxx

Jon knew he was being stupid, but he couldn’t help it. He wanted to find that wildling girl again.

“Ygritte, where are you?” he mumbled.

“Right behind you.”

Jon turned and smiled when he saw Ygritte.

“You’re still here?!”

“Yeah, I went to leave but then found myself back here. So I guess I’ll stay a bit.”

Jon cleared his throat, “You mentioned something before about . . .”

“Ah, yes, the after-death thing. Well, here, the dead have a tendency to turn into wights.”

“Wights?”

“Yeah. Zombies. That’s why you gotta burn the bodies.”

Jon looked apprehensive, “That’s not good.”

Ygritte laughed, “Oh, the wights are nothing compared to the White Walkers.”

xxx

Ygritte found herself liking Jon’s company. He was endearing, even though he was a Crow. 

Both of them started to open up to each other. Jon told her about his life growing up as a bastard, why he went to take the black, and how the Night’s Watch was different than he expected.

Ygritte in turn told him about the wildlings and how they were always moving, always going.

“Sometimes, you just wanna stay put,” she said. “But this land isn’t made for that.”

xxx

Mance’s army had scouts everywhere, and they noticed the band of Night’s Watch brothers getting close to their camp.

They decided to send a group of the Free Folk down there to dissuade the Crows. The Night’s Watch was prepared, however. 

xxx

Jon watched his men fight off and kill the wildling group. He sighed as he remembered Ygritte. He went off to meet her.

“Are you happy, bein’ a Crow?” she asked him.

Jon paused, “It isn’t what I expected. But they’re my brothers now.”

Ygritte grinned, “Y’know, you’re pretty suited to the North.”

“I’m from Winterfell, it’s right near the Wall.”

Ygritte scoffed, “It’s south of the wall, so it’s the South.”

As they talked, Orell came up from the shadows.

“You a Crow, now, Ygritte?” He sneered.

Ygritte turned and notched her bow, “No, merely showing one how great breaking their vows could be. What do you want?”

“Oh, I don’t want anything. But I’m sure Mance would want a prisoner to interrogate.”

Orell whistled and a great Eagle came down and started to attack. Ygritte backed away and Jon drew his sword. He charged at Orell and stabbed him in the chest.

“Jon!” Ygritte shouted, but before he could determine if that was a shout of anger or of help, more wildlings came charging at him and disarmed him.

xxx

The wildlings had dragged Jon to Mance’s camp and was tied up. He was to be executed at first light.

Ygritte, meanwhile, was having a heated conversation with Tormund.

“They say you were with this Crow,” Tormund was asking her. “Why? You want to be a kneeler now? A southern lady?”

“No!” Ygritte scowled, “And Jon Snow is different.”

“Really. How?”

“Well, he broke his vow with me,” Ygritte said the first thing that came to her, which may or may not have been a lie. “What Crow would want a spearwife, I ask you?”

“Why do you care so much about him?” Tormund asked. He grinned, “He is a pretty boy, though.”

Ygritte looked over to where Jon was tied up. She couldn’t let him die. Something in her wouldn’t allow it.

“Are you in love?” Tormund asked suddenly.

Ygritte didn't respond.

“Well, good luck,” Tormund said.

“Thanks,” Ygritte walked off, thinking.

xxx

Sunrise came too soon. Jon was carried over to a rock and lowered down on it. Mance was raising his sword when a voice cried out, “No!”

Ygritte ran over and threw herself on top of Jon. “Don’t hurt him! He left the Crows! He broke his vows with me, and he is willing to join your side.”

Mance looked down at them, “Are you sure, Ygritte?”

Ygritte narrowed her eyes, “Why would I lie to save a Crow?”

Mance nodded and Jon was untied.

“Thank you,” he said to Ygritte.

Ygritte grinned, “Welcome to the Free Folk, Jon Snow.”


	11. Cinderella

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sam is in search of a girl with feet that fit a glass slipper

Sam had found a glass slipper by his bed, and he had no idea where it came from. None of his brothers knew anything, or cared enough.

“Just go to Mole’s Town and sell it,” one brother said.

But something told Sam that he shouldn’t dispose of the shoe. Not knowing what to do about the shoe, Sam went to Maester Aemon.

After listening to Sam’s story, Maester Aemon sat and thought for a while. Finally, he spoke.

“Somehow that shoe came to you, and the nature of the shoe leads me to believe it’s magical. Now, I do not think the shoe has been cursed, nor does it want to wish you ill. It’s separated from its pair. And I believe it wants you to find the pair.” 

“How do I do that?”

“The shoe is connected to you somehow,” Maester Aemon said. “Listen to your gut. Where do you have to go?”

“I-I don’t know.”

“Ignore your fear and worry. Don’t listen to your thoughts.”

Sam took a deep breath and closed his eyes. Where did he have to go? A creepy unease filled him. 

“North. I have to go North.”

Sam opened his eyes and gulped. “I can’t go North.”

Maester Aemon stood up, “I will talk to the Lord Commander and have him assemble a small team to send you North. He will listen to me. I suggest you go get ready.”

Sam nodded and hurried back to his chambers.

xxx 

Eventually Sam was sent out with a group of brothers. They thought his mission was silly, but they dare not disobey the Lord Commander.

“So, you’re trying to find someone to fit that shoe? What, does only one person have that sized foot?”

Sam sighed. He felt ridiculous, yet Maester Aemon told him to follow this. So, he shouldered on the teases from his brothers and continued North. He wished Jon was here, but Jon was off on a mission farther north.

As Sam kept walking, he realized where he was going. “Craster’s Keep.”

xxx

Craster stared at the band of the Night’s Watch.

“So, you think one of my girls has a magic glass slipper?” He snorted.

The brothers stared at Sam; it was his mission.

Sam nervously cleared his throat, “So, I would like to find the owner of this glass slipper. And we have permission from the Lord Commander to ensure her safety.”

Sam added that last part, but he felt as if it was necessary.

Craster narrowed his eyes, “And why would I do that?”

“We give you protection, don’t we?” Sam said, sounding braver than he meant. “And we allow you to live your life, don’t we?”

Craster growled, “Be quick about it.”

Sam gulped and entered the keep. Luckily, the other Night’s Watch brothers were helping. They arranged a line and made it quick and efficient to help Sam try on the shoe to each woman. None fit perfectly, but as this was a magic slipper, Sam didn’t think it was too weird.

xxx

“Gilly?! Gilly?!” Ferny frowned as she looked around. Where was she? The Night’s Watch men had come with a promise to take one woman away who fit the strange shoe. And Ferny will be darned if she didn’t make sure all of the girls had the chance to try the shoe on.

Eventually, she came to a door that was locked shut. Frowning, Ferny pounded on the door.

“Hello?” A faint voice came from inside.

“Gilly!” Ferny grinned. “Stand back!” She ran back to the kitchen and grabbed a knife. She then went back to the door and started hacking away at the door. Eventually she made a hole and started pulling away the wood, not caring about the splinters slicing up her hands.

xxx

Sam was getting antsy. No one’s foot was fitting the slipper, and Craster was getting angrier by the minute. 

“This is enough!” Craster cried out and stalked towards Sam.

“We have to--”

Craster smacked the shoe out of Sam’s hand and it smashed on the ground. The hall fell silent as the pieces of glass bounced along the ground.

“Looks like your little adventure is over,” Craster sneered. “No shoe anymore. Now go.”

“Wait!” A voice cried out. Everyone turned to the back as a woman and a girl walked forward. The woman nodded at the girl, who hesitantly walked forward. 

“I have one,” she said, and took out the shoe from her pocket. She handed it to Sam and nervously sat down. Sam gracefully slid the shoe on her foot. A perfect fit.

Sam looked up at her and smiled. “I’m Sam, by the way.”

“Gilly,” the girl replied.


	12. Tangled

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shireen is stuck in a tower.

Shireen woke up and immediately jumped out of her bed. She was about to go racing to the kitchen, when she stopped in her tracks. She was in a circular room with only one window. Shireen walked to the window and looked out. The sight of the ground 70 feet below her made her scream.

xxx

Davos had been breaking his fast when he noticed the guards running around the castle. Concerned, he followed them out and saw a huge tower on the grounds that had not been there the night prior.

Before he could speak, he spotted her. Shireen was in the window of the tower.

“Shireen!” Davos went over to the tower where the guards were gathered. They searched for a way in, but couldn’t find a door or anything. The tower was too high for Shireen to jump down safely, and the stone was too smooth for them to climb up. 

Eventually Stannis called for guards to stand by the tower daily and nightly until they could get a way down.

xxx

Stannis was sitting at his table, lost in thought, when Davos entered.

“Your grace, we need to help her.”

Stannis looked up at her, “I am. I have guards to ensure her safety. No one can hurt her until we can get her down.”

“But she needs food, water--”

“The maester is working on it, Davos,” Stannis said. “She is my daughter. Don’t think I don’t care about her. Now, I have some business to take care of.”

Davos nodded and left.

xxx

Shireen was bored. After the terror had subsided, she had realized there was nothing to do. The tower was too high to have a conversation with someone down below, unless you shouted. And then, you could only have a very brief conversation. Davos would come by every so often to check on her, which she was grateful for. The maester had set-up a catapult to send food and water up to Shireen. 

The tower wasn’t the only strange thing. Shireen’s hair, which had originally been shoulder length, was growing alarmingly fast. Soon, her black hair filled up the room, and most of her time went to maintaining it to prevent it from becoming tangled up. 

xxx

Shireen had an idea. She started to braid her hair in one long, coarse braid. It was still very long, but it was easier to move around. Shireen went over to the window and dropped her hair down. The braid reached all the way to the bottom. 

Soon, Davos came, and was surprised to find the length of hair going down the tower. He looked up to see Shireen’s smiling face.

“We can use it to carry stuff!” Shireen called down, excited.

Davos was skeptical, but he agreed to try. He sent up a small package of tasty pastries to Shireen. While it was tiring work for Shireen to pull her hair up, she was able to successfully get the package.

As well as treats, Davos sent up books and dolls for her to occupy her time with. Shireen was grateful for his help in aiding her boredom.

xxx

Shireen enjoyed experimenting with her hair. One day she hung it from the rafters and started swinging from it. It was almost like a rope, and she barely noticed the pull of the roots on her head.

She told Davos when he came to see her and wanted to try to lift him up, but he refused. He said he was too big and it wouldn’t work.

xxx

The guards had immediately called Stannis as soon as the first rock from the tower fell. The tower was slowly starting to crumble. Davos heard them going to get Stannis, and knew he had to do something to save Shireen. Remembering what she had said about her hair being strong enough to hold someone, he ran out to the tower.

“Shireen! Let your hair down!” 

Scared, but glad that Davos was here, Shireen threw down her long braid. She could feel the tower crumble around her and knew that when it fell, anyone inside would be trampled by the stone. 

Shireen held onto her hair as Davos climbed up. Her hair was strong enough to support him as he made his way up the tower and into the small room. Once he came in through the window, Shireen hugged him tightly. Davos smiled, and then took out his dagger. 

“I’m going to cut your hair, is that alright?” He asked her.

Shireen nodded, and then held her head still as Davos cut the hair as close to her head as he dared. Soon, Shireen’s head felt pounds lighter as her hair lay severed around the room. Davos grabbed one end and tightly secured himself to it. He then threw the other end down the window.

“Will you be able to climb down?”

“Yes, but what about you?” Shireen asked, frowning.

“I’ll tie your rope of hair to the bed and follow you down. I’ll be right behind you, I promise.”

Shireen smiled and started to climb down the tower, clutching the hair tightly. As she got closer to the ground, she could feel the pandemonium around her. As Shireen touched her feet to the ground amongst the guards, she looked up to see the tower crumble down before her.

xxx

The next morning, the guards were busy cleaning the rubble. Stannis was concerned about his old friend, and Shireen was inconsolable. 

But as the guards moved the rocks, a figure shifted amongst the debris. Covered in dust, but unharmed, rose Davos. 

Stannis went to greet him, and Shireen hugged him tightly.

“Davos, I see death still can’t seem to corner you.”

Davos laughed, “No, no it cannot.” He smiled down at Shireen and hugged her back.


	13. The Princess and the Frog

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Meera is a frog, and decides to take matters in her own hands

Meera was a frog. She didn’t know how or why. But she was. And she was determined to try to fix it. The main problem was communication. Whenever she tried to speak, a ribbet came out. And she couldn’t hold a quill to write with. So, she figured that she needed to do this on her own.

xxx

Meera had heard stories of witches down in the swamps. She figured that one of the witches knew how to fix her. So she set out on her journey. Although she couldn’t make good time as a frog, and had to avoid any predators, she kept going.

Meera hated not having her spear and net on her. She felt vulnerable, although she figured that her frog body had to have some type of defense mechanism against predators.

xxx

Meera had been going for a while when she spotted it: a large, black lizard-lion. It was her house sigil, but it was also capable of eating frogs. Unfortunately, it had seen her too. It approached her slowly, and Meera tensed, ready to hop away. Just as she was about to go, it spoke in her head.

"Meera of House Reed, I know what you seek. And I can help you."

If a frog could smile, Meera would be smiling right now. The Starks aren’t the only ones with helpful sigil animals, she thought to herself. She hopped over to the large lizard-lion and hopped right on its back. She was carried away into the swamps.

xxx

Everything seemed so much bigger and terrifying. Meera constantly felt like jumping into the water and hiding, but she reminded herself that she needed to find a witch and undo this curse. She got to know her new lizard friend. She decided to name him Swampy, a name he found annoying. Swampy, however, cared more about getting Meera where she needed to go to than the silly name she gave him.

"Onward, Swampy!"

"Perhaps a better name, my lady?"

"Nonsense!"

Meera wasn’t trying to be rude, she was just trying to have some fun and make this trip enjoyable. Swampy was very formal, and a little boring. He used “my lady” as a form of respect, even though Meera wasn’t technically a lady.

xxx

Eventually, they made their way to a small hut where a witch resided.

Meera hopped over to the hut and started ribbeting very loudly. 

“Wha’ is it?!” The witch came outside and stared down at the frog. “Croak twice if yer a person.”

Meera ribbetted two times and the witch nodded.

“Simple fix: kiss yer princess or prince and you’ll be good!”

Meera was skeptical, but she couldn’t converse with the witch, who went back inside.

"I don’t have a prince," she thought.

Swampy nodded his head. "True, however, House Reed is loyal to the Starks. And the eldest boy has declared himself King, no?" 

Meera looked at Swampy. "How do you know all that?"

"Rumors travel fast in the swamps."

"Interesting. So I need to find the eldest Stark boy and kiss him? No, wait, if he has declared himself King, he wouldn’t be a prince. He doesn’t have any children . . . siblings! He has siblings! One of his brothers. I’ll kiss one of them! Swampy, to Winterfell!"

xxx

They journeyed to Winterfell, but Swampy stopped right at the edge of the woods.

"Wouldn’t want to scare them. Plus this is direwolf territory."

"Alright, hopefully the next time I’ll see you, I’ll be human."

Meera stealthily hopped into Winterfell. At least, she thought she was being stealthy, but truly, who cared about a frog? Even one that wasn’t in its habitat. As Meera looked around, she realized she had no idea how to get to one of the Stark princes. Just as she was pondering how to find them, a great direwolf approached her and picked her up by its mouth.

Meera started freaking out as she was carried through Winterfell by the direwolf. She couldn’t escape its mouth and tried to play dead, thinking it wouldn’t want to eat a dead frog.

As quick as the wolf had picked her up, it dropped her on a bed. Meera looked around, and saw a boy lying there, confused.

“Summer, why have you brought a frog?” He asked.

A Stark! Finally, I can get out of this frogskin. Meera hopped towards the boy, who lifted out his palm and picked her up. Bringing her near his face, Meera hopped and kissed his cheek. As she came down, she was disappointed to find that she was still a frog. She was alarmed to see another frog in front of her.

Ahhh I’m sorry! She tried to cry, but ribbets came out instead. Fast ribbets came from the boy, but Meera couldn’t really understand it. Summer went over and nudged her with his head.

Meera turned to the direwolf. She hoped that, somehow, Summer could talk to her in her head, but that didn’t seem like the case. However, Summer did seem to be communicating with the boy. Then, the boy nervously hopped towards her. 

Before Meera could realize what he was doing, he kissed her quickly on the lips. This time, both of them started to transform.

Meera was relieved to find herself back in her normal, clothed human body. She turned to the boy.

“Meera, House Reed.”

“Bran, House Stark. What just happened?”

Meera laughed, “No clue. But, boy, am I glad it’s over.”


End file.
